The Mobile Infantry (MI) is a fictional military force in Robert A. Heinlein's novel Starship Troopers and in the movies Starship Troopers, released in 1997, the 2004 sequel, Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation, the 2008 film Starship Troopers 3: Marauder and the TV series Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles. The MI is portrayed differently in each version.

The Mobile Infantry of The Terran Federation (Novel)

The Mobile Infantry is an elite fighting force of the Terran Federation. Their training is depicted as extremely strenuous, with a few dying before completion. The book's narrator, Juan Rico, describes how out of his entire 2000 man training unit, fewer than 200 make it all the way through. A Mobile Infantryman is equipped with a Powered Suit as well as an arsenal of weapons at his disposal, some built into the suit. These weapons range from conventional firearms to micro-nuclear warheads. The armor is strong enough to resist any conventional weapon less than high explosives or anti-tank rounds. The servo-motors give the wearer enough strength to crush a tank or tear through a concrete wall, but are dexterous enough to allow them to pick up an egg without breaking it. The armor is also equipped with jump jets and rockets, allowing the trooper to move rapidly about the field. One expression used in the book as a compliment to good soldiers is that they are "on the bounce."According to Rico, when one is suited up in the powered armor, they appear like a "steel gorilla".

Usually, an MI platoon would drop from individual capsules launched from a troop transport in orbit. The capsule is used only once. The MI platoon will then execute its mission. These missions range from hit-and-run strikes to search and rescue missions. The MI will usually deploy about one trooper every half-mile. After the mission is complete, the Transport will launch a retrieval beacon for the platoon to follow to the retrieval area. Usually the beacon will play music such as, in the case of the TFCT Rodger Young, "The Ballad of Rodger Young." Once the retrieval boat lands, the platoon boards and returns to the transport.

The MI prides itself in its esprit de corps. This philosophy includes never leaving a wounded soldier for dead; instead they pick up their wounded and make sure they make it back alive. Also, all MI soldiers are combat soldiers; there are no dedicated support staff. This means that when a unit launches a mission, all soldiers do so.

In some ways, the term "infantry" is misleading. Heinlein depicts the MI as a heavily armored but highly mobile force which virtually dominates the battlefield and greatly utilizes shock effect- much in the way of modern armored units. Likewise, they are utilized in the same missions (raids, screens, interdiction, etc.) as modern cavalry. In effect, the role depicted in the novel, relying on mobility, shock effect, and firepower, greatly follows the modern US Army Armor branch, with components running the gamut from light cavalry to heavy tanks. In addition, elite airborne infantry is a chief inspiration for Heinlein's troopers (both parachute and Air Assault).

The Mobile Infantry of the United Citizen Federation (films)

The Mobile Infantry in the movies is vastly different from its novel counterpart, and was considered disappointing by many fans of the book. Instead of an elite fighting force equipped with Powered Suits, they are a conventional army armed with conventional weapons - but apparently without armored vehicles, artillery, most heavy weapons, and other vital equipment.

The MI troops were portrayed as far more expendable than in the book. There is also a clear lack of military tactics, the favoured approach being to run toward or away from the Arachnids spraying bullets with reckless abandon; this led to unnecessary losses. In the book, tactics were based upon each soldier working alone as part of a larger team (spread over many miles), as the powered armor, communications gear and amount of weaponry allowed them to do so; the MI also took far fewer losses. The movie-MI lack the powered armor of their literary counterparts, instead entering combat in the equivalent of BDU and composite armour. This removes their ability to fight the bugs with hand to hand combat; as seen in the final battle of the novel. They do retain their miniature nuclear warheads, which can be fired from a rocket launcher or used as a grenade with a roughly thirty-second fuse.

When Johnny and Carmen enlist, the desk sergeant refers to them as "fresh meat for the grinder." They are encouraged to kill their wounded if evacuation is difficult, a far cry from the novel where the MI makes every effort to recover its wounded.

In an analysis, the movie's creators were not specifically attempting to parody or malign Heinlein's work with their portrayal of the MI. However it can be noted that the director did not actually read the novel fully. In the DVD commentary he stated that he read a few pages and got bored with it. Instead, it was created to parody and malign the military in general. The movie had a specific vision satirizing militarism and criticized the Federation's (and by extension, any government or society's) view of the military (i.e. the individual soldier's expendability). There would also be technical difficulties involved in creating the MI armor and other, cinematic rather than literary restrictions (such as Hollywood's taboo against hiding the faces of major characters for extended periods as the MI armor would necessitate). The rocky terrain of the Bug worlds would make effective use of tanks and other vehicles difficult. In the third film, the Mobile Infantry's ground tactics seem to have somewhat improved (they use rank and file tactics in an attack against the bugs) along with their weapons and later in the film, the MI deploys an experimental squad equipped with powered suits, called Marauders. In addition, Mobile Infantry are shown serving as marine troopers aboard Fleet battleships.

The Mobile Infantry of SICON (Roughnecks TV Series)

In the TV series, the Mobile Infantry was a cross between the novel and movie counterparts. While they individually wore armor, they were not "powered" in the same sense as the novel, and they generally kept the same (callously-regarded) role and (limited) capabilities as they did in the movie. The TV series fielded powered suits, though. Each squad or platoon would normally be accompanied by 2 or 3 soldiers piloting Marauder support vehicles. These were mainly designed for squad support and were not meant for direct combat. Unlike the movie, though like the book, they utilize drop pods to transport from orbit to the surface. Though, their capsules are dropped from shuttles rather than from the transport itself. Unlike the novel, MI personnel can be of either sex. Likewise, unlike the novel or any functioning real regular military, they operate in squad-sized elements individually led by officers.

Notes

The RPG developed by Mongoose Publishing and the FPS Starship Troopers make an amalgamation of the Mobile Infantry of the movie and the Roughneck Chronicles series with light infantry from the movie being supported by elite power suit equipped warriors for elite operations. The "light troopers" were envisioned as cheaper alternatives to the more fully trained, powered armored, "true" Mobile Infantry [88680]